“Life is a series of events, from War and Peace to the trivial and sublime, poignant, and deadly, depressingly serious … “brother, sister, mother, father, teacher, lovers, warrior, seeker” … all going to the same place by various routes and using various tools they try to make a life of comfort and joy and routinely fail at it, even accepting the great accomplishments of civilization there has never been a golden age, even at the height of success and security all tribes & nation states have their private and individual sorrows that eclipse even the greatest events and accomplishments.

People have  told me, on usenet, FB & assorted websites, that they could not talk about certain aspects of The Tarot.  And not just because of the sacred vows they had taken not to do so, but also, as they were kind enough to inform me, they new something that i could not possibly handle, would not understand, or mis-use in some nefarious way as demonstrated by an ego that made me question my interlocutor in the first place.

It is unfortunate that Arthur Edward (wisdom while you) Waite and his literary  reputation is clouded with this obfuscation, but that a modern day, 30+ something alternative type who professes special knowledge that they cant or wont talk about should consider it even a rhetorical technique is a piece of work.

Especially on a FB type group dedicated to talking about it.

... to give the other side their view, i am an arrogant know nothing with a superficial reading of a few Crowley poems, and, according to my detractors, and perhaps worst of all, i am not even an official member (one who has gone through the training of one of the various competing corporations that have turned Crowley into a revenue stream) that they would term an  initiate.   And like all tyros and faddists i can not speak of that which i don't know, and they won’t tell me unless I apply for membership in their group and agree to go through a process that is not explained to me before hand and that require vows of secrecy to say nothing of trust, to find out about.
 
The cost of this enshrined initiation is more than I will pay, and that is not the actual, financial cost, but rather the necessity of intelectual & mental dishonesty & hypocrisy.  At least the Catholic Church don’t charge money for its initiations as the teachings they are based upon are universally obvious, public knowledge, and no great secret to be charged money for and asked to swear oaths against revealing to others.”

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil Eerskine of that ilk :)

http://www.joetarot.com

www.joetarot.com